The Evocatively Named Subaru B5-TPH
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 11.22.05
At the recent Tokyo Motor Show, Subaru showcased a vehicle a tad more sporty than the very cute R1e, which we mentioned before. The B5 TPH Concept (this middle bit means‘Turbo Parallel Hybrid’) is a ‘crossover’ hatchback with the ground clearance of a 4WD. But the bit that interests us here is that it’s a hybrid, There’s an electric generator/motor mounted twixt the 2.0 litre engine and the transmission. “The electric motor itself produces 10 kW and 150 Nm torque while the petrol engine has a 191 kW output with 343 Nm torque.” An unlike most hybrids where the electric elements kick in just for city driving, the B5 TPH’s are capable of operating at cruising speeds too. And its “manganese lithium ion battery charges to 95 per cent capacity in five minutes.” The hybrid engine itself might one day find itself on the road, but the car as shown here is not expected to have a commercial release. From sites all over the blogsphere, like Jalopnik, but probably the most pics can be found at ::SeriousWheels .
Looks nice. I bought my first Subaru Outback after having Honda's and Toyota's my whole life. I have been impressed with the Subaru's handling and performance. The AWD is impressive on the Subaru's. I was a little disapointed that you get a few MPG less with AWD. I personally want Subaru to release a Turbo Diesel model. More MPG and the great AWD handling would be perfect.
I would love to see this thing on the road. When, oh when, will we see a station wagon hybrid? Those of us with eco-kids to haul around are desperate for something with a little room that's not an SUV. Until then I guess we'll stick with our VW TDI Golf.
The idea is great and it looks very nice for a crossover, but I think there might be a typo in the text, since you're not going to be able to cruise using an electric motor that only develops 10kW of power.
Previous poster wrote
"I think there might be a typo in the text, since you're not going to be able to cruise using an electric motor that only develops 10kW of power."
I think it's not an issue. Part of the hybrid concept is that it can run both systems simultaneously to generate a decent amount of power. I'm sure this one usually cruises with gas engine running and adds electric power as needed.
More precisely, those hybrd computers have sufficient logic to figure out which systems need to be powering the car, including the option of running both simultaneously. Whether - at any given moment - to use the gas engine to charge the battery while cruising or idling, or to use the battery to run the electric motor(s) to help move the car.
Typically the gas engine in a hybrid is maybe 30-35% smaller than what you would see in a non-hybrid car of similar weight. The missing power is provided by the electrical motor/generator system.